Qualcomm Technologies has boosted its support and expansion of extended reality (XR) solutions at the Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2023, it announced on Monday.
The company’s Snapdragon Spaces XR Development Platform has begun incubating numerous investments across immersive industries. Across sectors, operators are defining Snapdragon Spaces’ device requirements and compatibility with XR devices.
This is leading to increased availability of wirelessly tethered smart glasses and smartphones, network interoperability, and regional developer programmes to innovate AR experiences and solutions.
Xiaomi-OPPO-OnePlus Expansion
The development comes as numerous original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) such as Xiaomi, Oppo, Lenovo, OnePlus, and others expand their available XR offerings at the MWC 2023.
Xiaomi recently revealed its Wireless AR Glass Discovery Edition featuring Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Spaces XR2 Platform. Additionally, OPPO announced its mixed reality (MR) device, complete with Snapdragon Spaces Ready, for its OnePlus 11 5G smartphone. The device includes its first-ever Snapdragon 8 Gen 2-enabled device working seamlessly with Spaces Ready, allowing developers to empower their smart glasses and AR devices.
On the backdrop of the announcement, analyst firm CCS Insight unveiled its inaugural white paper featuring data, insights, and use cases from Qualcomm and global operators.
Firms including China Mobile (CMCC), KDDI Corporation, Deutsche Telekom, NTT QONOQ, Telefonica, Vodafon, and T-Mobile have contributed to the findings.
Comments on Qualcomm Innovations at MWC 2023
China Mobile Communications Group Device Company (CMCC)
Speaking on Qualcomm, Cui Fang, General Manager of Technology, China Mobile Communications Group Device Company, said that his company was “fully investing in the metaverse and XR.” It would do so by implementing its strategy of “excellence in software and in hardware technology.”
He continued,
“We have a long-standing collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies in XR actively promoting the development of the industry and working together to solve industrial challenges.
He concluded CMCC looked forward to working with Qualcomm to build the “developer ecosystem” to “empower the growth of the overall XR industry ecosystem.”
Vodafone
At the Mobile World Congress 2023, Ulrich Irnich, Chief Information Officer and IT Director, Vodafone Germany explained that Snapdragon Spaces had enabled his company to “make quick strides to deliver real-world, headworn XR solutions” to customers.
He added: “Our GigaAR Stage is a prime example, and we will continue to push the boundaries of XR in collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies.”
Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile
Speaking further, Sean Seaton, Senior Vice President, Deutsche Telekom, added that its Snapdragon Spaces partnership with Qualcomm and T-Mobile in the United States led to its incubator hubraum in Berlin.
The accelerator programme had proved “how relevant Snapdragon Spaces is for Developers and Creators from around the world,” he added.
Explaining further, he said,
[The] results from the final teams were amazing! Innovative XR use cases require our superior 5G networks to create an even better user experience. We are excited to enter the next phase by leveraging our unique assets in entertainment as well as our enterprise solutions for the benefit of our customers.”
John Saw, Executive Vice-President of Advanced and Emerging Technologies, T-Mobile, said that XR “paired with 5G is poised to unleash a massive wave of new innovative applications for consumers and businesses alike.”
T-Mobile, the lead 5G launch partner for Snapdragon Spaces across North America, was “honored” to work with Qualcomm and others to continue “fueling the advancement of XR on our industry-leading 5G network.”
Telefonica
Telefonica’s Vice President of Group Devices Unit and Consumer Internet of Things (IoT), Daniel Hernandez, explained at the event that his company had launched a multiyear XR collaboration with Qualcom in September.
The initiative had developed a strong collaboration via Spaces, leading to industry-wide adoption for an open, interoperable ecosystem, he said.
Speaking further, he added,
“We have done significant progress over this period working within our Open Innovation Programmes, 42 Academy and our XR Experience Centre.”
He concluded that the telecommunications giant looked forward to “collectively accelerating the development of the XR ecosystem” in the future. Doing so, based on the strategic programme, would leverage Telefonica’s 5G and cloud computing infrastructure, “bringing the best Xr hardware andservices to our consumer and [business-to-business] customers, he added.
Qualcomm at the MWC 2023
The news comes after XR Today spoke to Brian Vogelsang, AR Product Leader, Qualcomm, on the sidelines of the Immerse Global Summit (IGS) 2022 Miami.
At the event, the executive explored updates on Qualcomm’s latest platform, the Snapdragon AR2, which aims to continue the trend of frontrunning the immersive components industry.
Both the XR2 and AR2 platform aim to facilitate greater solutions, innovations, and devices. The latter platform features Qualcomm’s triple-chip setup, complete with an AR processor, a co-processor, and connectivity unit.
At the time, he stated that the AR2 was a first-generational solution for processors to incubate AR solutions globally. It would allow developers to build AR smart glasses with “comfortable form factors” to long-term use.
He explained,
“Previously, we had built XR processors for VR and AR, but through our engineering efforts and researching market demand, we realised it needed dedicated processing and spent several years working on the technology. The platform contains multiple processing chips and we think it will empower both enterprise and consumer AR smart glasses with form factors capable of achieving mass adoption”
Additionally, work with Qualcomm has led to multiple partnerships last year, including Japan’s Square Enix, South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, and many others.
The Mobile World Congress 2023 is taking place from 27 February to 2 March at Barcelona’s prestigious Fira Gran Via venue.
The trendsetting conference, hosted by the Groupe Speciale Mobile Association (GSMA), is one of the world’s premier gatherings for global tech leaders, experts, and the industry’s latest innovations for the enterprise.
